January can be an exceptionally bleak month of the year for all, with the bitterly cold temperatures and the inability to defrost a windscreen, but with Swedish quartet Sarcator’s new album ‘Swarming Angels & Flies’ dropping tomorrow, the band will be turning up the heat to unimaginable levels. With eight brand new whiplash-worthy tracks and three mind-blowing covers, ‘Swarming Angels & Flies’ will leave fans needing a neck brace by the midway point of the album.
Starting off strong with ‘Burning Choir’ as their opener, Sarcator sets the tone of the album
sensationally with an ear-bursting track that throws all the angst and aggression at fans that
they’ve come to know and love from the band over the past six years. Full of exceptionally high-energy from Leo Buchalle's riffs on guitar and Jesper Rosen's pummelling force on drums that will leave fans foaming at the mouth. The guttural and raw vocals should definitely come with a ‘do not try this at home’ warning, with lead singer and guitarist Mateo Tervonen most likely needing some serious vocal rest after recording this first track.
Next, the album transitions into ‘Comet of End Times’, the second track of the album and right off the bat, begins with a powerful and angsty guitar riff from Leo Buchalle that will have fans sprinting into the center of the pit in no time. The scream-worthy vocals from Tervonen showcase his innate talent and brags exactly what he is capable of. ‘Comet Of End Times’ is perfectly followed by the title track ‘Swarming Angels & Flies’, which hits eardrums with insane instrumentals right from the get go, inciting a feral need for fans to head-bang themselves into intensive care no matter where they are.
The midway point of the album (how’s the whiplash going?) is marked sensationally with ‘The
Deep Ends’ and ‘Where The Void Begins’, the latter being the longest track on the album sitting at a healthy seven minutes, where ears are blessed with guitar riffs to top all those that listeners have heard so far. Tervonen confidently shows off his spectacular vocals in these two tracks, leaving anyone who listens gasping for more and, as a noteworthy centrepoint for the album, the remaining tracks do not disappoint. Fans are in for a very welcome treat with ‘Where The Void Begins’, which makes a momentary shift in sound and builds from the very beginning, but nothing could prepare anyone for the moment the vocals kick in, nor for the insane howls they’re about to hear.
As we approach the final tracks, the story comes to a monumental end with ‘Closure’ and ‘Unto Sepulchres’, two tracks which are bound to create circle pits in any and all situations. ‘Closure’ shifts the gears and launches instrumentals that not one fan knew they needed, with ear-splitting riffs which would have anyone stomping along on their dreary morning commute. This leaves us eye-to-eye with the final track, ‘Unto Sepulchres’, which perfectly defines the term ‘big finish’. If fans think they’ve heard all there is to hear by this point, Sarcator bursts out of the shadows with another trick up their sleeves, ending the story with speaker-ruining growls and finger-breaking riffs which could well be the best on the album.
‘Swarming Angels & Flies’ encapsulates rage in its finest form, and will be a blessing upon every metal fans keen ears - not to mention it's head-splitting to the point where it should come with a volume warning to anyone listening with headphones!
‘Swarming Angels & Flies’ will be released on January 17th via Century Media.
Words: Becca Wheeler
Photos: Sarcator
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